Editors: Natalia Gavrilova and Stacy Tessler Lindau
The proceedings for
the 4th Annual Biomeasures Workshop (2006) are now published.
Please visit CCBAR website at http://biomarkers.uchicago.edu/workshopproceedings.htm
to download the online version.
The 5th Annual Interdisciplinary Biomeasures Workshop (and first-ever international gathering) will be held in Chicago, June 14-15, 2007. For Workshop agenda please visit CCBAR website at: http://biomarkers.uchicago.edu/Agenda-2007.html. Please contact Karl Mendoza: kmendoza@babies.bsd.uchicago.edu or 773-834-4832 for more information.
[Evolution]
Reevolution of sexuality breaks Dollo's law
The dominance of sexual reproduction is still an unresolved enigma
in evolutionary biology. Strong advantages of sex have to exist,...
[Neuroscience]
Social concepts are represented in the superior anterior tempo...
Social concepts such as "tactless" or "honorable" enable us to describe
our own as well as others' social behaviors. The...
• Study:
Hormones May Ward Off Dementia
New research suggests that hormone therapy taken soon
after menopause may help protect against the mental decline of
dementia, even though it raises that risk in elderly women....
• U.S.
Infant Mortality Rate Twice as High for Blacks
While the infant mortality rate in
the United States continues to hold steady, significant racial and
ethnic differences persist, a new federal study found.
• Genetic
patterns double heart risk
Large studies link variants to coronary disease and attacks .
Researchers have identified genetic patterns that double the chance of
having a heart attack and drastically increase the likelihood of
suffering from heart disease, the leading cause of death in the United
States.
• Gene
links longevity and diet, scientists say
Roundworms may hold the key to the secret of longer human life.
• Cutting
salt 'reduces heart risk'
Scientists provide hard evidence that eating less salt can cut the risk
of cardiovascular disease by a quarter.
• Why
alcohol boosts breast cancer risk: study
A study in mice shows that moderate alcohol
consumption stimulates the growth and progression of breast cancer by
fueling the development of new blood vessels -- a process called
"angiogenesis." It does this by boosting expression of a key growth
factor known as vascular endothelial growth factor or VEGF.
• New
diabetes genetic risk factors found
Scientists have found clusters of new gene variants that raise the risk
of Type 2 diabetes and how the researchers did it is ...
• Meat can be murder
on long-term health
You don't necessarily have to become a vegetarian to experience
health benefits such as a lower risk of heart disease and certain
cancers. Just try eating less meat rather than giving it up altogether.
• Aspirin
May Not Help Aging Brain
Low-dose aspirin may not help women aged 65 and older keep their brains
sharp as they age, researchers report in BMJ.
• Genes,
Lifestyle Affect Aging Eyes
Your genes and lifestyle may affect your odds of developing macular
degeneration, a new study shows.
• HPV
Virus in Men
HPV virus in men can cause health problems, too. So it's important for
men to understand how to reduce the risks of HPV infection.
• Moderate
Coffee Drinking Reduces Many Risks, Panel Says
Coffee is among the most widely consumed beverages in the world, and a
recent expert panel says that the preponderance of scientific evidence
suggests that moderate coffee consumption (3-5 cups per day) may be
associated with reduced risk of certain disease conditions, such as
Parkinson's disease. Some research in neuropharamacology suggests that
one cup of coffee can halve the risk of Parkinson's disease. Other
studies have found it reduces the risk of Alzheimer's disease, kidney
stones, gallst...
• Modern
life puts stress on heart
The stress of everyday life threatens to fuel an epidemic of
cardiovascular disease, a report warns.
• HRT
linked to ovarian cancer risk
A large UK study has found using HRT significantly increases the risk
of women developing ovarian cancer.
• Tea
'could cut skin cancer risk'
Drinking just two cups of tea per day could cut the risk of developing
skin cancer, a study suggests.
• Brain
structure changes precede impaired cognition
In normal older individuals, MRI of the
brain reveals loss of gray matter about four years before symptoms of
mild cognitive impairment set in, according to results of a study
reported in the medical journal Neurology.
• Study:
Whole-Grain Oats Cut Cholesterol
Eating a diet rich in whole-grain oats may help lower cholesterol in
people at risk for heart disease, an analysis shows.
• Aspirin
May Protect Against Cancer
Already known to protect against heart disease, the popular painkiller
also appears to lower a woman's risk of developing or dying from
cancer, a new study shows.
• Breastfeeding
May Cut Breast Cancer Risk
Breastfeeding can offset the increased risk of breast cancer faced by
women who have their first baby after they turn 25, new research
suggests.
• Fruits,
Veggies May Cut Cancer Risks
New studies are providing additional evidence that eating fruits and
vegetables can reduce the risk of cancer.
• Pas
de deux of sexuality is written in the genes
When it comes to the matter of desire, evolution leaves little to
chance. Human sexual behavior is not a free-form performance,
biologists are finding, but is guided at every turn by genetic programs.
• Personal
Health: A Lively Libido Isn't Reserved for the Young
It is rarely age per se that accounts for declines in libido among
those in the second half-century of life. Rather, it can be any of a
dozen or more factors more common in older people that account for the
changes.
• Dogs
Lived 1.8 Years Longer On Low Calorie Diet: Gut Flora May Explain It
Changes caused to bugs in the gut by restricting calorie intake may
partly explain why dietary restriction can extend lifespan, according
to new analysis from a life-long project looking at the effects of
dietary restriction on Labrador Retriever dogs.
• Drinking
Heavily In College May Lead To Heart Disease Later In Life
College-age students who drink heavily may increase their risk for
future heart disease, report medical researchers.
• Hormones
Can Raise Breast Cancer Risk
New Government Research Finds Menopause Hormones Can Raise the Risk of
Breast Cancer
• 'Good'
Bacteria Could Keep Skin Looking Young
There's no shortage of products out there that promise to keep you
looking young. The newest contain an unusual ingredient that may fight
aging. The question is -- do they work? CBS 2 Medical Editor Mary Ann
Childers reports.
Study
to Probe How Healthy Younger Adults Make Use of Genetic Tests - May 3,
...
The National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) and the National
Cancer Institute (NCI), parts of the National Institutes of Health
(NIH), have teamed with Group Health Cooperative in Seattle and Henry
Ford Health System in Detroit to launch a study to investigate the
interest level of healthy, young adults in receiving genetic testing
for eight common conditions. Called the Multiplex Initiative, the study
will also look at how people who decide to take the tests will
interpret and use the results in making their own health care decisions
in the future.
Cortex Area
Thinner in Youth with Alzheimer's-Related Gene - April 23, 2007
A part of the brain first affected by Alzheimer's disease
(http://www.nia.nih.gov/Alzheimers/) is thinner in youth with a risk
gene for the disorder, a brain imaging study by researchers at the
National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), one of the National
Institutes of Health (NIH), has found. A thinner entorhinal cortex, a
structure in the lower middle part of the brain's outer mantle, may
render these youth more susceptible to degenerative changes and mental
decline later in life, propose Drs. Philip Shaw, Judith Rapoport, Jay
Giedd, and NIMH and McGill University colleagues.
Reducing
Sodium Decreases Long-Term Risk for Cardiovascular Disease - April 2...
Reducing sodium intake not only prevents high blood pressure, but also
prevents heart disease, according to new clinical trial data from the
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of
Health. Men and women with pre-hypertension who reduced their sodium
intake by 25 to 35 percent had a 25 percent lower risk of total
cardiovascular disease over the 10 to 15 years after they reduced their
sodium intake.
Decrease
in Breast Cancer Rates Related to Reduction in Use of Hormone Replac...
The sharp decline in the rate of new breast cancer cases in 2003 may be
related to a national decline in the use of hormone replacement therapy
(HRT), according to a new report in the April 19, 2007, issue of the
New England Journal of Medicine. The report used data from the
Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) program of the
National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of the National Institutes of
Health.
NHLBI
Study: Having Elevated Risk Factors in Young Adulthood Significantly
Ra...
Having above optimal levels of risk factors for heart disease between
the ages of 18 and 30 can mean a two to three times greater risk of
later developing coronary calcium, a strong predictor of heart disease,
according to results of a new study from the National Heart, Lung, and
Blood Institute (NHLBI) of the National Institutes of Health.
Salivary
Diagnostic Device Shows Promise - April 11, 2007
Researchers supported by the National Institute of Dental and
Craniofacial Research (NIDCR), part of the National Institutes of
Health, have engineered a portable, phone-sized test that in minutes
measures proteins in saliva that may indicate a developing disease in
the mouth or possibly elsewhere in the body.
Tai
Chi Boosts Immunity to Shingles Virus in Older Adults, NIH-Sponsored
Stud...
Tai Chi, a traditional Chinese form of exercise, may help older adults
avoid getting shingles by increasing immunity to varicella-zoster virus
(VZV) and boosting the immune response to varicella vaccine in older
adults, according to a new study published in print this week in the
Journal of the American Geriatrics Society. This National Institutes of
Health (NIH)-funded study is the first rigorous clinical trial to
suggest that a behavioral intervention, alone or in combination with a
vaccine, can help protect older adults from VZV, which causes both
chickenpox and shingles.
Events
Alzheimer's
Disease Biomarkers:
How Can Specific Population Groups Help Us Identify/Validate Biomarkers
for Presymptomatic Diagnosis and Drug Development?
June 7th - 8th, 2007, Marriott Wardman Park Hotel, Washington D.C.
HEALTH
AND RETIREMENT STUDY: "HRS Workshop - ISR/SRC Summer Institute,
June 2007,"
(June 18th - 22nd) of the Survey Research Center's Summer
Institute.
6th European Congress of
Gerontology, 5 to 8 July 2007, St Petersburg, Russia
60th Annual Scientific Meeting
of The Gerontological Society of America, November 16-20, San
Francisco, United States
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This Newsletter is
supported by a grant from the National Institute on Aging, National
Institutes of Health (Grant No. 5 P30 AG012857)